“No,” he said quietly. “It is finished. All of this is done now.”
Mr. Hargreaves slid a document across the desk. Nathaniel’s gaze never left Arabella.
“Your allowance is terminated as of today. The lodging currently held in my name will be withdrawn within forty-eight hours.Any further attempt to suggest a connection between us will be formally contested.”
The room was very still. Arabella’s face had gone pale. For a moment, Margaret even felt pity for her. She had been where the lady was, and she was fortunate that she had not ended up in a worse position.
“You would abandon me like this?” she said, disbelief creeping into her voice. “After everything?”
Nathaniel answered without hesitation.
“I would prevent you from harming my wife again.”
The words hung in the air like a closing door. Margaret felt something shift inside her chest as she watched him. There was no cruelty in the way he spoke, no satisfaction in stripping Arabella of the advantages she had clearly believed were secure. He looked almost tired, as though this confrontation had been inevitable for some time.
Arabella stood abruptly. Her gaze flicked toward Margaret again, sharper now.
“So this is whatshewanted.”
Margaret did not respond. Nathaniel’s voice remained calm.
“This is what you forced.”
For a moment it looked as though Arabella might attempt another argument, another manipulation, but the presence of the solicitor and the magistrate made the reality unmistakable.
The decision was already written. There would be no undoing it. Arabella gathered her composure with visible effort and turned toward the door.
But she did not leave immediately.
She had reached the door, her hand already resting against the handle, when Mr. Hargreaves spoke again from behind the desk.
“There is one additional matter, Miss Vaughn.”
She turned back slowly. The earlier confidence had thinned, though she attempted to recover it with a faint lift of her chin.
“Another matter?”
The solicitor adjusted the document in front of him. His tone remained professional, but the words carried a formality that made the room feel colder.
“Yes. His Grace has also instructed that any further attempts to approach the Duchess of Ravensmere, or to imply misconductbetween yourself and His Grace, will be treated as formal slander.”
Arabella stared at him.
“Surely you cannot be serious.”
“I assure you we are,” Mr. Hargreaves replied evenly. “Should such claims arise again in society, written statements from several witnesses will be presented to the appropriate authorities. Legal proceedings would follow.”
The color drained further from her face.
“This is absurd,” she said, her voice tightening. “You would ruin me over a misunderstanding?”
Nathaniel had not moved during the exchange. He still stood beside the desk, his posture composed, his expression unchanged.
“You ruined yourself,” he said quietly.
Arabella turned toward him fully now.
“I ruined myself?” she repeated incredulously. “After everything you promised?”
